Sorry for another late chapter. Yesterday, I arrived in Kilkenny intending to finish this one off before uploading it, which is why I organised a hotel with AC. A lot of places in Ireland don't have it, and they are going through a bit of a heat wave, so I've been getting poor sleep. Anyway, that poor sleep caught up with me when I got back from dinner last night, stepped into a cold room, and my entire body said. You know what? You should go to sleep. I expected to wake up after a nap, but instead I slept from 7 pm until 930 am. So that's why your chapter is late. The siren song of AC had me in its grasp. Chapter 129
Homecoming
Tobias barely recognised The Three Step Hills as he walked down the road towards them. The rice paddies of his youth remained on the flats, but the hills his clan had turned into a tea plantation were different to when he left. Gone were the familiar varieties of tea. In their place sat new specimens which could cultivate. These cultivating tea plants stored spiritual energy in their leaves to varying degrees, making them harder to grow than regular plants, and Tobias saw many of his core realm gardeners working hard to keep their environment balanced.
The other noticeable difference was the chi saturation. It was far greater than it had been a few centuries earlier. Countless discoveries must have been made for such a change to exist, and Tobias was excited to discover what others had learned during his absence.
While Tobias walked, his disciples and the Blossoms constantly turned their heads. They had seen many wonders since coming to The Three Kingdoms, but his home was different. Core realm spirit herbs grew on the roadside to balance the environment. They weren't behind walls or protective arrays, because they weren't valuable enough for his clan to protect. And no one would dare touch them even if there were.
The Finch Clan's gardeners were considered the second most powerful army in The Republic. The most powerful army was the Finch Clan itself. The Republic's army held third place, much to their frustration.
The gardeners watched their group as it passed by, but did not interfere with its passage. Many people were coming and going along the road, and so long as they followed the rules, there was no need for servants to intervene.
Tobias was keeping his identity secret to prove a point. Their clan's security needed to improve. The cultivation world was vast, and they did not know as much as they thought they did. So, Tobias cloaked his group as they reached the gate of the servant's town, and they walked through unnoticed.
The ancestral barrier, crafted from cuttings of their immortal spirit willow ancestors, made it impossible for anyone to enter the Finch Clan's hidden realm except through the gateway. This gateway was the most heavily guarded location in The Republic.
And yet, Tobias got with ten steps of arched entrance before the weight of a hundred nascent soul realm servants' aura descended upon his group. The pressure from so many powerful cultivators suppressing them drove everyone, except for Tobias and Hun Fen, to their knees.
Tobias gritted his teeth as he drew on everything he'd learned during his time away to maintain his upright posture. This defensive protocol was designed to incapacitate him. And he was a little shocked to discover it wasn't working.
Servant Ho's core realm clone appeared before the archway, folding space through his aura, a very costly action. "I cannot see you, but I know you are there. Allow yourself to be seen, or we will execute you."
Tobias withdrew his shroud, allowing his servants to see their group but not recognise them.
Servant Ho didn't react as their group appeared, but scanned them with his aura, searching for threats.
There was a loud crack a second later as reality warped around Hun Fen and broke the aura restraints holding everyone in place. Another 900 nascent soul realm cultivators joined the 100 already restraining them.
Servant Ho's eyes widened, shocked by what she had done. "Who are you and why are you here?"
Tobias had witnessed Hun Fen parry their auras and immediately incorporated her trick into his own aura, so the second wave of pressure was less harsh than the first.
Tobias smiled at Servant Ho. "We're old friends of your patriarch. He asked us to test your defences. You have done better and worse than we expected."
Servant Ho scowled. "Password."
"I don't know anything about a cloud mountain lily." Tobias looked around, trying to find the source of their discovery. "Did we trigger some sort of array?"
Servant Ho relaxed. "Yes. It pains me to say this, but we were unable to find you. How did you disappear from our sight without us noticing? That should be impossible."
"It is an application of dao that you do not understand yet."
"There is little we do not understand."
Tobias's disciples giggled.
Tobias smiled. "I take it your patriarch is still in seclusion."
Servant Ho nodded. "He should be finished with the tenth layer of his core in a few years."
"May I speak with his clone instead?"
The weight pressing down on Tobias increased, and he fell to one knee with everyone else.
Servant Ho glared. "If you were a friend of our patriarch, you would know that his clone is absent."
Tobias groaned under the pressure, realising he wasn't the only one who had learned new tricks, and stopped hiding his presence. "Are you telling me I haven't worked out how to make a second clone yet? I've had centuries."
Servant Ho's eyes bulged, and he cupped his hand and bowed. "Servant Ho greets Patriarch Finch."
The pressure vanished, and then ten thousand voices filled the Three Step Hills. "We greet the patriarch."
Tobias stood up, walked over to his servant, and hugged him. His actions were filled with the dao of hidden beauty, conveying everything he felt for the man who had served him unwavering for so long. The beauty of sharing that which is hidden was the third petal a Blossom could obtain, and by far the most useful.
Servant Ho stared at Tobias as tears began to trickle down his cheeks. "This servant has been seen and recognised."
"You always have and always will be."
"With one action, you have washed away all my bitterness and regret that I have not been able to find you, Patriarch. This servant is grateful for your time away for what it has allowed you to show him. May I ask why you have returned?"
Tobias nodded and cupped his hands behind his back. "I have finished correcting a mistake I made that would have forced me from seclusions."
Servant Ho glanced at Lung Mei. "She is the daughter of Lung Zhi."
Tobias nodded.
Servant Ho was a nascent soul realm cultivator. He did not need more explanation to understand what had taken place.
"How young was she when she entered the core realm?"
"Eight."
"This servant understands."
"How long before I come out of seclusion?"
"Another decade. You began gathering the spiritual energy you needed for the tenth layer of your core only three decades ago."
Tobias decided he'd made good progress, likely because of the improved chi saturation. "I will be waking myself from seclusion then."
"May this servant know why?"
Tobias nodded behind him. "These three are my disciples. Lung Mei, Hun Fen, and Ming Dia Lu.”
"She is the prodigy of the Ming clan, the servant clan that you found during your travels, correct?
"Correct."
"We investigated Ming City and found no trace of your presence beyond you guiding her cultivation in a small way. She seemed like a unique talent, so we let her be."
"I was there. You could not see me, nor how I guided her. I have learned much since we last spoke."
"Thank you for the clarification. It will relieve your servants to know that they failed through no fault of their own."
"They have not. There is much I wish to teach you all."
"We were speaking of why you must wake yourself from seclusion, Patriarch."
Tobias smiled. "Hun Fen is a unique individual. I cannot help her progress her cultivation with my current body."
"If it is to care for your direct disciple, then this servant understands you must come out of seclusion."
Hun Fen's mouth dropped open. "That's all it takes to bring your patriarch out of seclusion, wasting decades of effort."
Servant Ho nodded. "Patriarch Finch places his direct disciples' needs above his own. He has always been this way. If you need him out of seclusion, we are expected to bring him out. There is no room for debate."
Tobias turned and held out his hand to make another introduction.
Hun Jia stepped forward and took it.
Tobias smiled at his servant. "This is Hun Jia. My cultivation partner."
Servant Ho bowed, but less deeply. "My Lady, this servant must apologise, but there is no concubine palace available for you at the moment."
Hun Jia seemed amused to be recognised as a concubine but didn't say a word.
Tobias shook his head. "There is no need for additional accommodation. She will live with me."
Servant Ho hesitated before nodding. "I will acquire additional servants to make sure she does not come to harm in your palace."
Tobias didn't argue that it was unnecessary. Everyone could only see her and the Blossoms as mortals for the moment, so it was easier to simply go along with their assumptions until the situation had been corrected.
Servant Ho turned to Tobias, cupped his hands and bowed again. "Your mother will be most pleased to know that you have returned with a concubine, Patriarch. We will begin preparing the cultivation materials she needs to reach the core realm immediately."
"Is my mother home?"
Servant Ho shook his head. "Your parents are in seclusion. Their clones have gone off to assist your grandfather's clone with establishing a new tea plantation. You have undoubtedly seen his earlier experiments on your way here."
Tobias was grateful his mother was away, because it made everything that came next much easier. "You're speaking of the tea plantation?"
Servant Ho nodded. "It's the reason why the chi saturation has improved so drastically, but I'll say no more. Your grandfather has been looking forward to discussing this matter with you for quite some time."
Tobias turned to his disciples, still holding Hun Jia's hand. "Come along, I'll take you on a tour of my clan's realm before I wake myself up."
Tobias took ten steps forward with Hun Jia by his side. The shroud hiding the entrance to his clan's hidden realm gave way as they stepped through the invisible archway onto a walkway made from the wood of his clan's immortal ancestors. The pair were immediately engulfed by the realm's chi saturation, feet surrounded by chi that had been compressed into a visible mist.
Tobias paused to admire the walkway, ignoring the chi saturation. The walkway was truly breathtaking, a functional piece of cultivator art that allowed you to traverse their realm from one end to the other without setting foot in the gardens. His cousin Ping had only just started building it when he left, but now it was complete, stretching for miles in every direction, creating a spiderweb of paths.
The next thing Tobias noticed was that the chi balance of the realm had entirely changed while he was gone. His clan had once again enhanced their gardens to promote growth, but in a way much more pleasing to the eye.
They appeared to have learned the dao concept of cultivator art in his absence. It was a good change, because it offered a new dimension to the mystical appearance of their realm. It made everything more pleasing to look upon and inspiring, but lacked the hints of beauty that he was accustomed to.
His disciples' mouths dropped open as they entered.
Tobias smiled as he spotted members of his clan and servants cultivating nearby. The familiar faces washed away his lingering homesickness. "Welcome to my home."
Hun Fen walked over, stopped beside him, and flicked her fan open indignantly. "Master has been scraping for coppers."
She was calling him a cheap whore, and she wasn't wrong considering how much he'd earn as a Blossom and how much he was worth."
Tobias ruffled her hair. "Only if you don't take into account how much I've learned from teaching you all these decades."
Hun Fen laughed and threw him a grin. "In that case, you are the most expensive Blossom in the history of our pavilion. Your honour remains intact, Master."
Tobias chuckled.
Servant Ho had entered behind them and heard the exchange and was having a hard time processing the news that his patriarch had become a courtesan. He had recognised the outfits the Blossom wore, but hadn't brought attention to them, because too polite. This was too much for the man, so he did what any servant in his position would do. He chose to ignore it and walked ahead. "Your new residence is this way, Patriarch. I assume your disciples will be staying with you."
"Yes. Is there enough space?"
"Space is no issue. Your cousin Ping built your palace with thoughts of children in mind. He assumed your absence was related to a woman and expected you to return with more family."
"Clones cannot have children."
"Your cousin claims he didn't know that when he started building."
Tobias laughed because that sounded exactly like the cousin Ping he knew. When they were younger, he was always trying to claim he was ignorant to get away with things. It never worked though.
"What was his punishment?"
"You told him his home needed to be twice as large as your own."
Tobias's disciples continually stopped to stare as they made their way through his clan's hidden realm. None of them had ever seen anything like it; even the wonders of the Forgotten Valley and The Three Kingdoms paled in comparison. Tobias stopped as well, taking in the view and the changes.
There was something truly mystical about what they had created. It went beyond the sheer number of sage realm spirit herbs. There were dao whispers which spoke of family and friends in ways he could not have conceived before leaving. Beautiful small manors sat between the gardens, transforming their realm from a place his clan lived into their home.
Servant Ho smiled. "You can sense that your realm is developing its own dao, can't you, Patriarch?"
Tobias paused, considered, and then nodded. "That is exactly what I'm sensing. Is it Cousin Ping's influence?"
"I'm not sure, Patriarch."
"Did it change after I went into seclusion?"
"No. You were the one who recognised that it had begun to develop its own dao. You sent for Peace Master So when you could not comprehend the changes and discovered he was in seclusion."
Tobias knew for a fact that Peace Master So hadn't been in seclusion, so this must have occurred after Hun Jia became a sage. His friend wasn't much of a liar, so claiming to be in seclusion would be something he would do to avoid conflict.
"Why's he in seclusion?"
"The Three Kingdoms executed the khans for their crimes when they expanded our borders. You believe he is sulking because they took away his favourite toys and are making him pay taxes."
Tobias roared with laughter.
It wasn't really something to laugh over, but he was in a very good mood now that he was home.
Servant Ho continued the slow journey, pointing out changes that had been made, eventually arriving at a beautiful palace that was a living piece of art. The spirit wood had been treated with a white wax to give a pure aesthetic with detailed carvings applied to every inch.
His disciples stared at it in awe, while Tobias tried his best not to do the same.
Hun Jia leaned over, hardening her aura. "I don't think I've ever seen you this shocked while I'm clothed, my love."
Tobias snorted, breaking everyone out of their trance.
Ming Dia Lu recovered first. "This looks like the home of an immortal."
"An immortal Prince," Hun Fen countered.
Lung Mei dashed inside.
His other disciples realised she intended to claim the best bedroom and raced after her.
Tobias turned to his servant. "It's not the home of an immortal or an immortal prince. It's the home of an immortal magistrate, correct."
Servant Ho nodded. "Your cousin Ping was trying for an immortal emperor, but he and Elder Kang couldn't grasp the dao concepts necessary and knew you wouldn't like the concept of an immortal prince from your history, so they settled on the immortal magistrate after meditation on your dao while you were in seclusion."
"It's perfect."
Servant Ho smiled. "That is exactly what you said the first time you saw it. I am glad to see that you have not changed in ways that matter during your absence."
"I've discovered that it is impossible once you reach the nascent soul realm. You are capable of making small changes, but they do not add up to significant ones. You can grow and learn, expand your understanding, but you cannot change who you are. You have cemented your dao for this lifetime, and the mortal world cannot influence you."
"The Cultivation and Science Academy has theorised something similar."
"Except through dao enlightenment."
Servant Ho paused. "You have undergone dao enlightenment."
"I have undergone thousands. Each one has changed me in subtle or not so subtle ways."
"Will this cause an issue when you return to your body?"
"No. Some of my enlightenments will facilitate the process."
Servant Ho peered at Tobias using the full strength of his nascent soul realm cultivation. "I see the living sword has grown stronger within you, and there are influences of the dao of beauty. These daos are like the trees which shade the forest floor, so I cannot see the changes beneath."
"Your skill for recognising dao has drastically improved in my absence."
"The Cultivation and Science Academy has been studying the field. Headmistress Xu has been hoping that it would provide us with a method to find you. She has been very upset with your absence."
Tobias felt a pang of regret. He had missed Xu Ling. And he knew his absence would hurt her, but he had no other choice. He was who he was, and Lung Mei had needed him.
Tobias sighted. "That's a terribly wasteful use of the academy's resources."
"You said that too when you found out. You were apparently proven wrong. While you were gone and in seclusion, Headmistress Xu developed a way to recognise divinity during pregnancy. The healers now test expectant mothers, and anyone who is found to be carrying a child with a divinity of one is placed in their care. The Cultivation and Science Academy now has an abundance of talented scholars who can go no further than the core realm. They study everything in their realm and below, and the scholars with the ability to reach immortality study what they cannot. Dao and its influence and interactions are much more easily understood by those in the nascent soul realm than those below. Their insights provide those in the core realm with insights that allow them to expand in ways they have never thought of."
"You are correct. I was wrong."
Servant Ho smiled.
"What are you smiling about?"
"Your disciples have chosen their bedrooms and unpacked their things by dumping them on the bed. I smile because I have missed having you and your guests to tend to, Patriarch."
"I'm sorry I could not take you with me."
"You have nothing to apologise for. I would have refused your request and dragged you back to your body had you made it. I understand why you had to leave me behind."
Tobias turned to the garden in front of his palace, where Servant Ho's main body sat cultivating. "You made good use of my absence. Nine layers of your nascent soul realm core put you a few centuries ahead of where you expected."
Servant Ho smiled as he turned and looked at himself. "The 1st Prince only had eight layers to his core, and I thought of him as a god." He turned to Tobias. "Since meeting you, I have come to learn that gods do not lord over those below them but raise them up as high as they can. I do not believe you are a god, Patriarch, but I often wish that you were, because this world would be a better place for it. Thank you for sharing your heart with me. I would not have the courage to voice my feelings if you had not. I will always be your most humble and devoted servant."